Smart optics bring natural light and flourishing plants to the Lowline experiment, a foray into subterranean parks.
“It is lit by soft, bright rays that bounce off an aluminium canopy. When a cloud passes by, it gets dimmer; you look up almost expecting to see a skylight. Ferns, palms and Spanish moss hang from the ceiling. Funnelled from three solar panels on the roof, the light is refracted but still natural, so it contains the full spectrum of colours that plants need to flourish …”
The problem is not that overworked professionals are all miserable. The problem is that they are not, writes Ryan Avent.
“I could anticipate with perfect clarity how the rhythm of life would slow as we left the city, how the external pressure to keep moving would diminish. I didn’t want more time to myself; I wanted to feel pushed to be better and achieve more. It wasn’t the stress of being on the fast track that caused my chest to tighten and my heart rate to rise, but the thought of being left behind by those still on it.”
If we have to have a wall, let’s make it a socially responsible, sensitive feat of engineering and design, asks the Third Mind Foundation.
“What the magazine Slate has called ‘The Great Wall of Trump’ may or may not be a better answer. But if, as polls indicate, it is an idea that is gaining some traction among a significant amount of Americans, we believe it should be considered as a serious architectural question.
“Can the idea of a wall be combined with architectural activism?
“This is the competition’s challenge: To bring bold humanitarian solutions, creativity and innovation to bear on alternative ideas of a border wall.”
As a national partner Street Furniture Australia is proudly supporting the AILA 2023 Festival of Landscape Architecture UN/EARTH on Kaurna Meyunna Yerta (Kaurna People’s Country) and surrounding regions on 19-22 October 2023. Here are seven of our upcoming festival highlights: 1. UN/EARTH program now available The festival program brings together streams of thought that engage with the elements and life below and within the earth’s surface, with four themes: DEEP EARTH / RAW EARTH / FERTILE EARTH / SUBTERRANEAN EARTH. Theoretical conversations and talks, presented by international speakers during the conference at the Adelaide National Wine Centre, are enriched by walks and expeditions on Country. Date: Thursday 19 October – Sunday 22 October 2023.Location: Tours and fringe events – various. Conference – National Wine Centre.Cost: Purchase your ticket on the …
Three landscape architects share their thoughts on the Voice History is calling as Australians head to the polls for a referendum on October 14, 2023, to vote on enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution. The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) said it encourages all members to “engage deeply with the available information, contemplate its implications, and arrive at an informed stance that aligns with your values and beliefs. “As landscape architects, we often find ourselves at the intersection of nature, culture, politics and history, aiming to craft spaces that resonate with the stories and experiences of those who inhabit them. This unique position imparts a special responsibility upon us to be both informed and sensitive to the cultural dimensions of our work.” AILA has compiled referendum …
Charlene Bordley (photo: right), the visionary founder of Parramatta Bike Hub, Parramatta Bike Tours and Addventageous, creates programs for ‘hard-to-reach’ groups including First Nations communities, women, seniors and disadvantaged youth. She met with StreetChat writer Kari Hill at the new home of the Parramatta Bike Hub on Wangal country, along the Parramatta River in Sydney Olympic Park. Charlene’s passion for making a difference in the community can be seen across the many social enterprise programs she runs. Wearing her uniform of blue, yellow and green, each colour symbolises a program: Blue for Addvantageous, Yellow for Parramatta Bike Tours and Green for the Parramatta Bike Hub. Social enterprise Addvantageous started off as a school program when Charlene gained confidence as a returning cyclist later in life. She experienced the benefits of …
Director of light, Anthony Bastic Vivid light curator and international event designer Anthony Bastic activates public spaces, often after dark, with light projections and art installations for massive audiences. About to bathe Sydney in colour with Vivid, StreetChat asks how the places landscape architects design inform his work. What drew you to a career in events, particularly outdoor events? I have always had a passion for attending outdoor events, whether it be a music concert, parade, fireworks display or theatre performance in a park. My parents would take my siblings, cousins and I along to see everything free that was on offer: Sydney Festival concerts in the Domain, Hyde Park events, NYE Fireworks and so on. It became the norm in my family to experience all these wonderful events that were outside of …
Marrickville Public School is the winner of the $100,000 My Park Rules competition playground transformation. The contest, hosted by AILA and 202020 Vision, encouraged schools to submit ideas on how to reinvigorate their outdoor spaces. Jury Chair Kylie Legge, from Place Partners, says the winning New South Wales school’s community spirit inspired the jury of landscape and greening experts, which included Lucy Turnbull. “The community of students, staff and parents illustrates how the creation of a shared vision can also be a call to arms to be the change you want to see in the world,” she says. Expanses of hard asphalt will be lifted to make way for green space, including an orchard zone to grow food with the local community. Tract Consultants designed the new space in collaboration with the school. Proud sponsor …
Superblocks to the rescue: Barcelona’s radical new strategy will restrict traffic to a number of big roads, drastically reducing pollution and turning secondary streets into citizen spaces for culture, leisure and the community. “In a city as dense as ours, it’s all the more necessary to re-conquer spaces.” Visit the Guardian article. Photo by Kaspars Upmanis on Unsplash. 7 placemaking tips: The Project for Public Spaces is a wealth of knowledge and research on how to create vibrant places rather than just useable spaces. Vox Urban highlights seven pearls of wisdom. In three words, these are: Engage with community Place, not space Collaborate with partners Prepare to push Observe local users Triangulate related elements Value, not cost. Read the full story. Photo: Sydney Living Museums. 104 year old street artist yarn bombs town Grace Brett might be …
